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The Promiscuity Papers

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The Promiscuity Papers

by Matjaz Regovec

The founding myth of psychoanalysis is revisited in The Promiscuity Papers with special attention being paid to the correlation between archetypal promiscuity and incest. The particular concern of the author, Matjaž Regovec, is to reveal how insights from these archetypal themes shed light on the difficulties encountered by a patient in his analytical practice. This work is aimed at practitioners and students in the psychoanalytic, psychotherapy and counselling worlds but will also be of interest to those in the social sciences.

Ann Casement, Licensed Psychoanalyst: Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

The Promiscuity Papers offer a refreshingly bold approach to the promiscuous as an attempt to ward off fear of the incestuous. In the process Matjaž Regovec re-examines the relations between Oedipus, Iocasta and Antigone, drawing us into some unexpected archetypal configurations informing the familiar and the unfamiliar in the theatre of the clinical temenos.

Product DescriptionIn The Promiscuity Papers, archetypal roots of promiscuity are explored. In classical Greek and Roman mythology some promiscuous father figures may be found viz. Chronos (Saturn), and Zeus (Jupiter). Another form of Saturnian promiscuous dynamic is explored in the mythological figures of Oedipus and Antigone. This is followed by presentation of a case history.

Ines, a woman in her early thirties, enters analysis because she would like to solve the recurring problem of her unsuitable partnerships - partners who are predominantly promiscuous. Her father was psychotically disturbed and Ines was the family member who offered support to him. Psychotherapy started with two sessions weekly. Within the transference, there appear two figures. One a 'positive father,' and the other as 'all-knowing.' The latter may be compared with the mythological figure of Oedipus, whose intelligence was exceptional, being demonstrated in his redemption of Thebes from the Sphinx. All the same, Oedipus suffered from a promiscuously incestuous relationship with his mother Iocaste. During old age, when he was expelled, and accompanied by his faithful daughter Antigone, Oedipus was most probably psychotic. In the analysis, Ines has decided, after 200 hours of analysis, to reduce her sessions to once a week. The problem of analytic interpretation is described, as well as the effects of interpretation (when it finally takes place) that it had on the analytic relationship and analytic process.

The intimate and important link between promiscuity and incest is also explored, promiscuous actualizing the incestuous. Promiscuity is a manifest sexual activity with the unknown other. Promiscuity can also be considered as a defense against paranoia.

About the authorMatjaž Regovec is a Jungian analyst and analytical psychologist. He undertook his analytic training in Vienna while living and working in Slovenia and is a member of the London based Association of Jungian Analysts (AJA, IAAP), as well as a professional member of the Slovenian Association of Psychotherapists (ZPS). Matjaž has a private practice in Ljubljana and works with Jungian analytic self-experiential groups in Ljubljana, Belgrade and Budapest. In 1993, Matjaž founded IPAL (Institut za psihološko astrologijo in psihoanalizo Ljubljana) – Ljubljana Institute for Psychological Astrology and Psychoanalysis. The Institute offers a professional three-year diploma course in counselling, as well as a postgraduate training in psychoanalysis (www.ipal.si).